Stadium and Arena Event Services closed the parking lot west of Rice-Eccles Stadium on Friday to prepare for the American Motorcyclist Association Supercross competition on Saturday.
Eric Goodrich, assistant supervisor for Special Events under Commuter Services, advised students and faculty who typically park in the stadium lot to park in the LDS Institute of Religion terraces and parking lots, the Guardsman Way lot or the lots north of the Annex.
Stadium staff cleared the west lot Thursday night after classes finished. All three access points to the west lot are closed, Goodrich said. The west lot will be used as the pit area for the Supercross team trucks.
Mark Burk, director for Rice-Eccles Stadium, expects more than 36,00 people to attend the AMA event. The AMA Supercross competition visited Salt Lake City annually from 2001 to 2004, but has not returned until now.
“We’re one of the smaller cities on the tour and we couldn’t sustain a sellout crowd year after year,” Burk said. “They usually give the market a rest.”
With the eight-acre parking lot closed today, students and faculty will lose about 940 parking stalls.
Burk said the U hosts events that will draw large crowds, such as the AMA event, to help fund the stadium’s repairs and maintenance for U football.
